Birthday boy 'heartbroken' over Beckham's no show

Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 14:50 [IST]

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New York, June 24 : It was certainly a charity gone awry when a 9-year-old boy was denied a gift package to meet his idol, football star David Beckham, that his mother won for him in a charity auction.

Jeanne Kelly bid 7,000 dollars for a 'meet-and-greet with Beckham' at a Feb. 2 charity auction at the home of Rudy Giuliani's former finance chairman, Michael Gooch, to benefit Charley's Fund, which raises money to cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Kelly wanted this package to be a birthday present for her son Conor. It included round-trip flights and two nights at an LA hotel for them both, with Beckham to meet the boy and sign a jersey for him. Both the mother and child were also promised two VIP field seats to Saturday night's Galaxy game.

It was when this New Jersey mother-son duo was packing their bags to leave on June 20 they got a call on June 17 from Darren Brown at Charity Sports Auctions, which sold the package to Charley's Fund, saying that the package was cancelled.

"They told me there was a breach of security and David's not doing it," New York Post quoted Kelly, as saying.

Both she and her sister, Diane, who bought the same 7,000 pounds package for her 13-year-old son, have not been refunded their money.

"They're keeping us in the dark. Conor is heartbroken. He said, 'Doesn't Beckham know it's my birthday present?' He is my son's hero," said Kelly.

And now, she claims that she feel awkward to demand her money back as it went to charity.